A Heart Not Easily Broken Read online

  Chapter 4

  I slapped a square of steaming lasagna on Yasmine’s plate.

  Yasmine watched it slide onto the table when I dropped the plate in front of her. “Whoa, Ebony, what’s wrong with you?”

  “You guys promised to stay out of my love life.”

  Her eyes were small slits when she looked up at me. “Yeah, so what’s your point?”

  My attention went to Kaitlyn. “Oh, don’t try to play innocent, you were in on it, too,” I said, stomping toward the refrigerator.

  “In on what?”Kaitlyn’s hazel eyes widened. “I didn’t do nothin’.”

  I rolled my eyes in exasperation and slammed the refrigerator door, salad dressing in hand. “Both of you set this up.”

  Kaitlyn’s eyebrows crunched together. “Set what up?”

  I studied her perplexed expression. Kaitlyn wasn’t good at lying, which could only mean one thing. Yasmine was the true source of my irritation.

  “Brian.” I turned to face her. “You lied. You do know him. I came home to find him standing in our yard. You’re the one who set this up.” I grabbed my plate from the counter and intentionally dragged my chair from the table, hoping the scraping noise irritated my roommates.

  “Excuse me?” Yasmine’s well-trimmed eyebrows arched. “The only Brian I know is a guy I dated a year ago. He’s a male dancer.”

  I ground my teeth. Between Yasmine and Brian, my dentist would make a lot of money.

  “Yes, you do,” I reminded her with a thin amount of patience. “You called him to cut the grass. You know, the same Brian I met at the club.”

  Kaitlyn held up a hand. “Hold up. You mean the white guy? The one you dissed, was here?”

  “I chose to ignore his invitation. It’s not the same thing.”

  Yasmine sat up straight in her chair, all hints of her irritation disappeared. “Wait a minute, how did he find out where you lived?”

  “Because you called him.” I fought the urge to yell my response.

  “No, the number I called belonged to Javan’s roommate.” Yasmine said.

  Both women were silent, watching me as the pieces clicked together.

  My mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God.”

  “What?” Kaitlyn focused on me.

  “This is unbelievable. Brian is Javan’s roommate. I thought it was the drummer.” I laughed in disbelief.

  Yasmine’s eyebrows narrowed in confusion. “Did I miss something?”

  My anger deflated. “I’m sorry you guys.”

  Yasmine picked up a generous helping with her fork. “All’s forgiven as long as this lasagna isn’t burnt.”

  Kaitlyn’s food remained untouched. “Are you gonna tell us what happened or what?”

  Aware of their questioning faces, I leaned forward to rest my elbows on the table. “Well, you got the gist of it. Brian─”

  “The one you dissed,” Kaitlyn inserted.

  “Yes, him. It turns out Brian does more than play in a band. He owns a lawn care business and cuts grass during the day.”

  “Hmm, on a first name basis and the man has two jobs, impressive.”

  I cut my eyes at Yasmine.

  “What?” She shrugged.

  “Anyway, he started flirting with me.” I paused for a moment, remembering the mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, the man is fine, just not my type.”

  “Because he’s white?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “No.” Brian’s gloriously half-naked, sweaty skin and devilish blue eyes were committed to memory. “He’s just not…” I waved a hand over my body. “I like a man with a lot of muscle.”

  Yasmine smirked. “That’s the excuse you’re using?”

  “Okay, I appreciate a good-looking man of any race. But when it comes to dating, I can’t imagine being in an interracial relationship. First, there’s the whole “we-don’t-have-anything-in-common” thing followed by the “look-at-them-staring-at-us” thing. And let’s not forget the “bring-a-white-boy-home-to-meet-your-family” thing. And oh my God, there’s the─”

  Yasmine put her hand in the air. “Okay, we get it; you have a problem with dating a white guy.” She shook her head. “Ebony, let’s be real. Your family lives three thousand miles away. Besides, you’re not trying to marry the man; you’re trying to get your freak on. If black is what you need, wait till its dark and turn off the damn light.”

  Kaitlyn nearly choked on a mouthful of food, while I howled in laughter. Yasmine joined in. We laughed until tears streamed from our eyes. No matter what the situation, Yasmine kept it real.

  “Is this based on personal experiences?” I asked when able to speak again.

  “Yeah, and hello? Black father, white mother.” Yasmine smirked. “Besides, I’ve been there, done a hell of a lot of that. Black, white, Hispanic, Asian…” she counted off each with her fingers.

  “How could I forget? You’re an equal opportunity lover,” I mocked.

  “Smart ass.” She smiled. “Think about it. You mix black with any race and you get a whole lot of beautiful. Vanessa Williams, Halle Berry, Shemar Moore. Mmm, he’s yummy, Vin Diesel—”

  “Oh, don’t forget Tiger Woods,” Kaitlyn added enthusiastically.

  We both shot her a questioning glance.

  “Okay…he’s got a whole lot of everybody in him. Too much though, because he is not cute,” Yasmine stated.

  “But he’s paid,” Kaitlyn pointed out.

  “She’s got a point there,” I agreed.

  We all laughed.

  “Back to the story. You guys recognized each other…” Yasmine prompted.

  “We recognized each other all right. He was nonchalant and all business. Until I went to give him some water, then he changed on me.”

  Yasmine laughed.

  Kaitlyn’s eyebrows narrowed. “Whad’ya mean?”

  “Well, Brian stopped being professional and accused me of standing him up. He wanted to know why I didn’t meet him and insisted on an honest answer.” I stared down at my plate, pushing pieces of broken lasagna around with my fork. “So I told him he wasn’t my type.”

  “You are never going to get laid,” Yasmine muttered.

  “He didn’t seem to care,” I said, shooting her the evil eye. “He asked me out. Well, dared me is a more accurate description.”

  Kaitlyn laughed. “He dared you to go out with him?”

  “We’re going to meet tomorrow night at the Santa Monica Pier for dinner.”

  “See, Kaitlyn, that’s why Ebony never plays Truth or Dare. She’s a sucker every time,” Yasmine said.

  I laughed. “Don’t get excited. It’s more like a business transaction than a date.”

  They looked at me with raised eyebrows.

  “I agreed to go out with him if he cut the grass for free.” I jogged my eyebrows.

  Both women were all grins as they gave me high fives.

  “See, that’s what I’m talking about. I knew you’d pick up on my lessons one day.” Yasmine beamed.